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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: vault · chair · foot · hand · race · season · squash · file

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — a contest
  3. file — a line of people
  4. hand — in cards
  5. season — in sport
  6. foot — a measure
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. season — of the year
  12. squash — to crush
  13. vault — a safe
  14. race — humankind
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. race — the arms race
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chair — a leader
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. foot — the bottom

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com